"These interstitial fluid flows, they've been studied for decades across the body, and there's some universal truths to them and how they move and how they cause different cells and tissues to change and function … during disease, such as cancer, but also in Alzheimer's disease."

Humans are 60 percent water, but where is that water? Jenny Munson, a world leader in the study of interstitial fluid flow, answers that question, explains how the movement of the fluid between our cells changes in diseases like brain cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, and how that understanding is being used to improve treatments of those conditions and others.

More about Jenny Munson

Jenny Munson is a professor and director of Fralin Biomedical Research Institute's Cancer Research Center in Roanoke, Virginia.  The lab's research focuses on the emerging research area of interstitial fluid flow. In brain cancer, fluid flow increases between cells within the tissue at the edge of the tumor where cancer cells mix with neighboring brain cells and evade typical therapies. Munson and her team believe fluid flow can alter how a tumor responds to drug therapies. The lab is also translating many of its methods and hypotheses to understand the role of fluid flow in immunity, aging, and women's health.

Visit the Munson Lab

About "Pocket Science"

Pocket Science is a compact guide to the human body and how it works, powered by the world-class scientists of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. We ask fundamental questions about the human body, health, and disease, and get answers from research institute experts, who also tell us how their research illuminates these systems and how to better treat the diseases that affect them.

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